X870/X870E Motherboard Lineup

[Ekans2011]

They are seriously nice boards, I've had Asus and Gigabyte in the past, my ASRock just walks all over them both.

If Capt. Picard says so ... 🫡

There is still time before I go home, but I will definitely keep an eye on it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

If Capt. Picard says so ... 🫡

There is still time before I go home, but I will definitely keep an eye on it.

If you’re not so fussed with RGB and fancy heat sinks, the TaiChi Lite boards are the same boards just dropping the bling, although they may come out later down the line

 

[TonyCarter]

Is it time to own my first ASRock? 🤔😅

Skip to about 19m in the Hardware Unboxed video to see Steve be less than impressed with their choice of USB ports (when some of the others have completely removed USB 2.0 ports for faster ones). There’s also an issue (possibly just an early bios issue) where it can’t use 8000MHz RAM, and has to be run at 7400MHz…but not sure if that makes any real world difference to performance anyway.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Skip to about 19m in the Hardware Unboxed video to see Steve be less than impressed with their choice of USB ports (when some of the others have completely removed USB 2.0 ports for faster ones). There’s also an issue (possibly just an early bios issue) where it can’t use 8000MHz RAM, and has to be run at 7400MHz…but not sure if that makes any real world difference to performance anyway.

I was a bit surprised to see standard USB ports on there, I thought the point of X870E was that it was exclusively USB 4 ports.

 

[Ekans2011]

Skip to about 19m in the Hardware Unboxed video to see Steve be less than impressed with their choice of USB ports (when some of the others have completely removed USB 2.0 ports for faster ones). There’s also an issue (possibly just an early bios issue) where it can’t use 8000MHz RAM, and has to be run at 7400MHz…but not sure if that makes any real world difference to performance anyway.

Yes, I saw the video, but don't worry, I'm not the sort to buy blindfolded (I'm a Genoese Scrooge McDuck but without the billions).
I'll check out all the reviews, possibly multiple times, before pulling the trigger.

 

[TonyCarter]

Those boards are 1) outside my price range (TUF or Strix x70E level will do); 2) pointless for me as I’m not upgrading until about Zen 7 😁

We will have to be careful recommending a X870 over an X870E, as due to AMD’s infinite wisdom the X870 is not just a lower spec 870E as it was between the X670/X670E variants.

 

[Ekans2011]

Those boards are 1) outside my price range (TUF or Strix x70E level will do); 2) pointless for me as I’m not upgrading until about Zen 7 😁

I understand Tony, but it's already been four years since my desktop went missing in action and is unrecoverable: first due to pandemic, then due to war (besides, using it for gaming today makes no sense). I don't think a Strix is cheap though.

The idea was to have a gaming system for me and TV/entertainment for my wife when I'm at sea (at least 6 months per year), but I haven't watched TV in about 20 years (I don't even physically have it at home ), so I'd have to buy a PC for me with a desk and monitor, a TV with a dedicated cabinet for my wife... no no, let's go all-in and end of cinema. But we're getting off topic now.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I understand Tony, but it's already been four years since my desktop went missing in action and is unrecoverable: first due to pandemic, then due to war (besides, using it for gaming today makes no sense). I don't think a Strix is cheap though.

The idea was to have a gaming system for me and TV/entertainment for my wife when I'm at sea (at least 6 months per year), but I haven't watched TV in about 20 years (I don't even physically have it at home ), so I'd have to buy a PC for me with a desk and monitor, a TV with a dedicated cabinet for my wife... no no, let's go all-in and end of cinema. But we're getting off topic now.

I haven’t had a TV since about 2002 or so, always stream on the puter.

 

[Ekans2011]

I haven’t had a TV since about 2002 or so, always stream on the puter.

I pay the TV fee, but I don't have it and don't stream it online. Consider how brilliant I am.

 

[Ekans2011]

Here's the MSI X870E Carbon

 

[TonyCarter]

I've sorted and colour-coded the AM5 chipset matrix to show what the confusing motherboard names mean, and where the new model number is just a refresh of a lower model number (based on specs).

As you can see the current X870 offerings are just a new name for the B650E level..albeit with USB4.

There doesn't seem to be an equivalent to the non-E X670 motherboards (yet), but for power-user builds we might have to recommend the Gigabyte 870E motherboards for now as there are no Asus ones on the configurator (other than the Crosshair).

I've also noticed the non-E X870 motherboards have a warning about shared PCIe lanes...

• PCIe 5.0 is only supported by 7000 and 9000 series processors. PCIe 5.0 slot x16 and M.2_1 will be downclocked to PCIe 4.0 with an 8000 series processor and M.2_2 will not function.
• M.2_2 shares bandwidth with PCIe 5.0 x16 and will downclock to x8 if the M.2_2 port is used.
• M.2_4 shares bandwidth with PCIe 5.0 x16 (supports x1) slot so will deactivate if PCIe 4.0 is filled.

But this is just the AMD specs, and board manufacturers are also offering quality of life upgrades in the amount/type of rear IO and the accessibility features (easy mount/release systems for GPU and m.2, etc.).

 

[Scott]

Just had a rattle through the below:

Seems that Gigabyte is definitely the one to watch. The only catch at the moment is that these are flagship, I want to see mid-range that we would tend to recommend.

The only push that I can see is for RAM speed & USB4. They're not to be sniffed at but that's typically it. I'm curious to see FPS across the motherboards though.

If anyone comes across any reliable comparison vids please post as I'm curious to see what you get for your £.

 

[Ekans2011]

Paul's Hardware rant of the Msi X870 Tomahawk, Asus TUF X870-PLUS, and Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER

Full review of the Asus TUF X870-PLUS by Guru3d

Review: ASUS TUF Gaming X870-PLUS WIFI motherboard

The ASUS TUF Gaming X870-PLUS WIFI motherboard is designed to withstand the rigours of intense gaming sessions while providing proper performance. The board supports AMD’s latest Ryzen 9000, 8000, and 7000 series processors. The motherboard’s 16 + 2 + 1 power stages, each rated for up to 80A...

www.guru3d.com

 

[Ekans2011]

A few more reviews from guru3d (the STRIX X870E-E is for @TonyCarter )

Review: ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E HERO motherboard

ASUS has released their high-end X870E Ryzen 9000 optimized series motherboards. We review the very sweet ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E HERO, which includes five M2 slots (PCIe Gen4/Gen5a), a 2.5 and 5 GigE port, WIFI7, as well as a strong VRM design and PCI Express 5.0 lanes.

www.guru3d.com

Review: ASUS ROG STRIX X870E-E Gaming WIFI motherboard

The ASUS ROG STRIX X870E-E Gaming WIFI motherboard is designed for high-performance gaming and computing, supporting AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000, and 7000 series processors. It features an 18+2+2 power stage design and AI Overclocking for optimal system performance. With support for up to 192GB of DDR5...

www.guru3d.com

I've found one about the Aorus Elite X870 by TweakTown, but I don't know them and I'm not sure about their reliability.

GIGABYTE X870 AORUS Elite WiFi7 Motherboard Review

If you're after value for money without compromising too much on features and quality, the GIGABYTE X870 AORUS Elite WiFi7 ticks the boxes.

www.tweaktown.com

 

[TonyCarter]

If I need USB4/TB4 then I can simply add the Thunderbolt EX card from Asus (as my MB already has the header).

If I was doing the build now, I'd be happy to pay the additional £50 (whatever) for the latest USB/TB/WIFI specs over the X670E, but for the same price I think I would rather have/recommend an X670E over a X870-nonE...but of course it depends on individual use cases!

Must say the Asus X870E-E looks 'solid' and much meaner than my shiny white/silver X670E-A.

 

[TonyCarter]

 

[Ekans2011]

 

[Ekans2011]

Will it be trusted, or will this turbo mode simply be the usual auto OC feature?

Gigabyte X3D Turbo Mode promises up to 35% higher gaming performance on Ryzen 9000X3D — Ryzen 9000 could see up to 20% improvement

Gigabyte claims X3D Turbo Mode enables Ryzen 9000 CPUs "to achieve similar gaming performance levels as their Ryzen X3D counterparts."

www.tomshardware.com

 

[TonyCarter]

Will it be trusted, or will this turbo mode simply be the usual auto OC feature?

Gigabyte X3D Turbo Mode promises up to 35% higher gaming performance on Ryzen 9000X3D — Ryzen 9000 could see up to 20% improvement

Gigabyte claims X3D Turbo Mode enables Ryzen 9000 CPUs "to achieve similar gaming performance levels as their Ryzen X3D counterparts."

www.tomshardware.com

Surely they can do the same for X3D CPUs then, and the difference between them would be nil?

 

[Ekans2011]

Surely they can do the same for X3D CPUs then, and the difference between them would be nil?

I really don't know 😆

According to Gigabyte, the X3D Turbo mode will effect both X3D and non-X3D CPUs, with varying performance gains.
I'm a bit concerned because there are no specifics about which parameters would be "touched" by this feature.